Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Korean Spicy Pork (JeYuk BokkEum)

This is my first korean dish. Yeah, clap clap! It is called JeYuk BokkEum or Korean Spicy Pork.

Recently I am into korean cuisine. I happened to stumble upon a good
korean recipe website and I have been checking out the recipes and
stocking up on korean ingredients at the same time. I remember the last
time I was so infatuated with korean stuff was way back in 2006/2007
when Da Chang Jing (大长今) was all the rage on Singapore TV. And I still
remember how Da Chang Jing popularized korean cuisine, she made korean
imperial cuisine look so refined and exquisite!

I was so inspired by korean cooking that I bought some essential korean ingredients such as korean hot
pepper paste (gochujang) and korean hot pepper flakes from the chinese
supermart last week, intending to make some typical korean dishes such as
kimchi and fried korean rice cakes. My intention is to try and make
kimchi this morning, let it ferment for a week so that it will be ready
in time for me to bring back to Singapore next weekend. In fact I have
already bought a big fat chinese napa cabbage, but I forgot that I still
need a packet of coarse salt (fine kitchen sea salt won't do), so the
plan to make kimchi is shelved till tomorrow. Instead I decide to try
out the spicy pork dish with the 2 key ingredients I have on hand: korean hot pepper paste (gochujang) and korean hot pepper flakes.

After 3 hours of marinating

Oh my god, this dish is really hot and spicy! I have reduced the amount of gochujang from 5 to 4 tablespoons but it is still spicy enough for me to spew fire! On a scale of spiciness, I think 4 tbsp of gochujang is already quite
spicy for a Singaporean/Malaysian, but then again I must say my
threshold of tolerance may be lesser than the average
Singaporean/Malaysian tastebud, after having stayed so many years abroad. In fact, I had to give my boy something else to eat for dinner because this pork dish was way too spicy for him.

But I really like this dish, it is hot and spicy with a tinge of sweetness. And after 3 hours of marinating, the meat tastes really juicy and succulent, with no lingering traces of pork smell. Really suitable for a cold and dreary evening like today.

Pardon the poor lighting, I hate to take pictures in my kitchen in winter!

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